Storage Crystal Palace Health and Safety Policy
Storage Crystal Palace is committed to providing a safe and healthy environment for employees, contractors, customers, and visitors. This policy sets out our approach to managing health and safety risks within our storage facilities and during associated removal and handling activities.
We aim to prevent accidents, work-related ill health, and damage to property by identifying hazards, assessing risks, and implementing effective control measures. Health and safety is an integral part of how we operate and deliver our services.
Policy Objectives
Our main objectives are to:
Promote a positive health and safety culture across all areas of our storage and removal operations. Comply with applicable health and safety legislation and relevant industry standards. Provide and maintain safe storage areas, access routes, and equipment. Prevent incidents related to manual handling, lifting, vehicle movement, and use of equipment. Ensure employees are trained, competent, and supervised for the tasks they perform. Identify hazards, assess risks, and implement suitable control measures. Monitor and review performance to drive continuous improvement.
Responsibilities
Management Responsibilities
Senior management has overall responsibility for health and safety within Storage Crystal Palace. This includes:
Setting clear health and safety standards and ensuring they are communicated to all staff. Providing adequate resources for implementation of this policy. Ensuring risk assessments are undertaken and kept up to date. Making sure that safe systems of work are in place for storage and removal activities. Investigating accidents, near misses, and incidents to identify causes and prevent recurrence. Reviewing this policy regularly and updating it as necessary.
Employee Responsibilities
All employees share responsibility for maintaining a safe working environment. Employees are expected to:
Take reasonable care of their own health and safety and that of others who may be affected by their actions. Follow all safety procedures, training, and instructions. Use equipment, tools, and vehicles correctly and safely. Immediately report hazards, defects, accidents, and near misses to management. Cooperate with management on all health and safety matters, including attending training. Avoid any behaviour that could endanger themselves, colleagues, customers, or visitors.
Contractors and Visitors
Contractors working on site must adhere to Storage Crystal Palace safety rules and any specific instructions provided. Visitors must comply with safety signage and follow directions from staff. Where necessary, visitors will be accompanied in operational areas.
Risk Assessment and Safe Systems of Work
We carry out risk assessments for key tasks and activities, including storage operations, removal and handling of goods, loading and unloading, vehicle movements, work at height, and use of mechanical handling equipment. Control measures are implemented, communicated, and periodically reviewed to ensure they remain effective.
Safe systems of work are established for tasks such as lifting and carrying, stacking and racking, securing loads, operating trolleys or lifting aids, and manoeuvring goods in confined areas. Employees must follow these procedures at all times.
Manual Handling and Lifting
Many activities within our storage and removal services involve manual handling. To reduce the risk of injury we:
Provide training in safe lifting and handling techniques. Encourage staff to assess the weight, shape, and stability of items before moving them. Promote team lifting for heavy, bulky, or awkward loads. Provide suitable handling aids such as trolleys or dollies where appropriate. Require staff to avoid unsafe practices, such as overreaching, twisting while lifting, or carrying loads that obstruct vision.
Use of Equipment and Vehicles
All equipment and vehicles used for storage and removal activities must be suitable for purpose and maintained in safe condition. Only trained and authorised personnel may operate equipment such as lifting aids or company vehicles. Pre-use checks are encouraged and defects must be reported immediately so that equipment can be taken out of service if unsafe.
Workplace Environment and Housekeeping
We are committed to maintaining a safe, clean, and orderly working environment. This includes:
Keeping walkways, stairs, and access routes clear and unobstructed. Ensuring good lighting in storage areas, corridors, and loading zones. Managing spillages promptly to prevent slips and falls. Maintaining shelving and racking in a safe and stable condition. Controlling access to operational areas where necessary.
Fire Safety and Emergency Procedures
Appropriate fire safety arrangements are maintained, including clearly marked escape routes, fire detection and alarm systems where required, and suitable firefighting equipment. Fire exits and escape routes must remain clear at all times.
Emergency procedures are communicated to employees, and responsibilities for raising the alarm and assisting with evacuation are defined where appropriate. Staff and visitors must follow instructions from designated personnel during an emergency situation.
Health, Welfare and First Aid
We aim to support the health and welfare of our staff by providing access to welfare facilities appropriate for the workplace. Adequate first aid arrangements are put in place, including trained first aiders where required and suitable first aid supplies.
All accidents, injuries, and incidents must be reported so they can be recorded and, where necessary, investigated. This helps us identify trends and take corrective action to prevent similar events in the future.
Information, Instruction and Training
Storage Crystal Palace provides information, instruction, and training to ensure employees understand the health and safety risks related to their roles and know how to work safely. Training may include induction training for new starters, task-specific training for storage and removal activities, refresher training where necessary, and briefings on new procedures, equipment, or identified risks.
Employees are encouraged to ask questions and raise concerns if they are unsure about any safety aspect of their work.
Monitoring, Review and Continuous Improvement
We monitor health and safety performance through inspections, incident reports, staff feedback, and regular review of risk assessments and procedures. Where improvements are identified, we will implement changes and communicate them to relevant staff.
This policy will be reviewed periodically, and also following any significant change in operations or relevant legislation, to ensure it continues to reflect our commitment to a safe and healthy environment for all who use or work within Storage Crystal Palace facilities and related removal services.
